THE WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT INDEX

Context Overcoming gender inequality is critical to achieving the end of hunger. Women often bear the responsibility for meeting the needs of their family; yet they are frequently denied the resources, information and freedom of action to fulfill this responsibility. Studies show that when women are empowered, all of society benefits. Women’s empowerment is an essential component of The Hunger Project’s programs.

Challenge To assess impact and review performance in The Hunger Project’s women’s empowerment programming, we sought to identify and adopt a standard, recognized approach. Yet, while women’s empowerment is a mainstay feature for many international organizations’ programs and practices, a standard, collective approach for tracking progress is still missing. This is a significant gap given the importance of gender equity to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ABOUT THE HUNGER PROJECT The Hunger Project has a 39-year track record of partnering with people living in poverty as they work to end their own chronic hunger. Our approach is Approach based on three fundamental pillars: (1) Mobilize To fill this measurement gap, The Hunger Project created the custom people at the grassroots level, (2) Empower women Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI), which builds on the International as key change agents of their own development, and Food Policy Research Institute’s Women’s Empowerment in (3) Forge partnerships with local government. Our Agriculture Index alongside extensive internal testing. The WEI, tailored work reaches 18.1 million people in nearly 20,000 to meet the unique needs of The Hunger Project’s programs, allows a communities in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. special focus on measurements that we recognize as central to overcoming rural poverty and disempowerment.

505,180 trained in women’s leadership since 2011

66% our active partcipants in our microfinance program are women

726,400+ participants in our HIV/AIDS and Gender Inequality workshops since 2011

Updated January 2017 THE HUNGER PROJECT 5 Union Square West, 7th Floor New York, NY 10003 USA [email protected] www.thp.org

What is the WEI? The WEI is a composite index designed to measure progress in the multi-dimensional aspects of women’s empowerment. Empowerment is considered a factor of both women’s achievements as well as of gender parity with men.

WEI measures progress on women’s empowerment by aggregating results across five key areas (or “domains”). Each domain is comprised of a series of metrics (or “indicators”) which quantifies performance in this domain. The tool is open source, and can be utilized by other organizations seeking to measure women’s empowerment.

In Practice WEI tracks women’s achievements and gender parity utilizing randomized household surveys to generate an aggregated community score. A higher value of WEI indicates greater empowerment for women in that community. This is important information which allows The Hunger Project to critically analyze performance of programs to empower women.

Aligned with The Hunger Project’s Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) approach, M&E teams review the data after an evaluation is completed. Teams in The Hunger Project’s Program Countries across Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, and Uganda), Bangladesh and Mexico utilize the WEI to strategically design and implement programs for Emilienne, peanut cookie trader, Zakpota Epicenter, Benin (Photo by Johannes Odé) empowering women in these countries. In October 2016, The Hunger Project, The results are presented to community partners through International Center for Research on Women community data presentations, where partners can engage , and the (ICRW) Global Alliance for Clean Cook- with the data and understand their progress against targets. presented “Converging stoves (UN Foundation) These presentations include visuals, interactive activities, and Metrics in Measuring Women’s Empowerment” at data comparisons to other Hunger Project communities or the American Evaluation Association (AEA) national data to imagine what is possible. conference. To date, data has been collected and analyzed in over 54 of The Hunger Project team shared about the WEI as our project communities and 17,000 households in nine part of this panel which detailed the various tools countries. the respective organizations are utilizing to measure women’s empowerment.

AEA’s annual conference attracts over 3,000 evaluators and practitioners each year for professional sharing.

THE HUNGER PROJECT 5 Union Square West, 7th Floor New York, NY 10003 USA [email protected] www.thp.org Why This Matters

Program Learning The WEI provides data and insights into the effectiveness of The Hunger Project’s women’s empowerment programming. Rather than simply “staying the course,” programs can change to better meet community goals and targets and share lessons learned.

Sharing Among Practitioners As an organization committed to learning and open data, The Hunger Project’s leadership in developing the WEI to meet its unique program needs will also support others who are interested in utilizing the WEI to improve their programs to empower women.

SDGs and Gender Metrics Data disaggregated by gender will be critical to achieving the SDGs. With access to data from more than 17,000 rural households in 54 communities across Africa, Bangladesh and Mexico The Hunger Project’s findings are important for gov- ernment officials, communities, funders, and other influencers who are committed to achieving the SDGs.

Rosita Mabunda, Epicenter Chairwoman, Zuza Epicenter, Mozambique

Opportunities

• Investment in supporting the implementation and continued validation of the WEI as part of ongoing MEL programming, including evaluations.

• Engagement and utilization by other non-profit organizations or implementation entities to contribute to the community of learning around measuring women’s empowerment.

• Translation and application to other sectors, including measuring women’s empowerment in urban or corporate settings.

For funding or partnership opportunities: Lindy Mockovak, Director, Strategic Partnerships and Marketing, [email protected] or (212) 251-9115

For questions about the WEI and MEL: Marissa Strniste, Director, MEL, [email protected] or (212) 251-9146

THE HUNGER PROJECT 5 Union Square West, 7th Floor New York, NY 10003 USA [email protected] www.thp.org